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Why is the law of supply and demand so powerful?A whimsical tale of love, dance and the economic concept of supply and demand. Bored in class, Jonathan and Kristin are woken up by our friendly narrator who helps guide them on an adventure in economics and... um... dance.

Jon M. Chu

JON M. CHU is known for his visually stunning blockbuster event films, as well as his works across various genres from groundbreaking digital series to commercials, and even live concerts. His most recent films include Paramount Pictures' “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” (starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Bruce Willis), “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never,” and two films that catapulted the “Step Up” dance franchise, “Step Up 2 The Streets” and “Step Up 3D.” His recent commercial/ music video work has also garnered much attention this past year with his Virgin America In-Flight Safety Dance Video, Microsoft Surface commercials and Justin Bieber “Beauty and A Beat” video all going viral (over 400 million views). As the youngest of five children from Los Altos, California, Jon M. Chu continues to use the influences of his childhood (family, technology, music and movement) to tell stories that connect with audiences around the world.

Director's Note

"I've known Morgan Spurlock for several years now and I greatly respect the work he's done to create real social change through his art. So when the call came to join him on the WE THE ECONOMY project, I leapt at the opportunity. However, as soon as I jumped in, I realized that, through the years, I had never really paid attention in my econ classes. Oops. So this would not only be an education for the audience, but even more so, for myself. I immediately got on the phone with our economic advisors, Greg Ip and Dean Baker. (Talk about intimidating.) But they were so kind and clear with their explanations of how the supply and demand curve were the foundation of almost all economic principles. After that call, I knew we had a duty to help explain it in the most fun, and informative way we could. One of the things that stood out in our conversations was how the economy was always in constant motion whether an ebb, a flow, a dip or a rise. Everything is connected. It reminded me of a duet between our wants and our needs. So I thought that since I have experience in making dance movies, it seemed appropriate to show a little bit about the fundamental economic concept of supply and demand through movement. I gathered some of the best dancers in the world including Emmy-award nominated choreographer Christopher Scott, Jillian Meyers, Phillip Chbeeb and Brandon Shaw to take it head on and help create the most fun and energetic lesson on an economic concept we ever could. Our biggest inspiration was the old Disney Goofy cartoons that taught you how to ski or golf. I thought the interplay of the narrator with our live-action actors could be hilarious and give us a lot of freedom to dive into more complicated economic ideas when we needed to. The goal is to get people moving their feet and their minds, driving them towards wanting to learn more at the amazing WeTheEconomy.com website so that they don't end up like me!”

Quiz

The amount of a product that a consumer is willing to buy at different prices represents what is known as:

The available supply of the product

Their demand for the product

Their household budget

The inflation rate in the economy

Demand is defined as a consumer’s desire, willingness, and ability to pay for a specific good or service.

If the short-term inventory of the latest iPhone is limited, and demand for it is very high, then:

If the price is allowed to adjust in the secondary (re-sale) market, those sellers will be able to charge higher prices

Those people who are willing to wait in line for the official price are implicitly paying a much higher-than-official price with their time

All of these

If the price of the phone is fixed at official dealers/stores, there will be excess demand (shortage)

The common-sense principle that defines the generally observed relationship between demand, supply, and prices is as follows: as demand increases, the price goes up; this attracts new suppliers, who increase the supply, bringing the price back to normal.